Professional dominant strives to prevent nonconsensual explicit image sharing
At first glance, the BBC’s report on Madeline Thomas, founder of Image Angel, appears to be another case of kink-shaming. However, in a pleasantly progressive turn, the article is respectful, as Thomas is openly proud of her online dominatrix persona.
In fact, her fury at her own explicit images having been spread without her consent inspired the creation of her forensic image protection company.
“These were beautiful pictures,” she told the BBC, “I’m not ashamed of the pictures, I’m ashamed of the way that they were used against me by someone whom I don’t know.”
Thomas’s work as a professional dominatrix gave her the determination to help others whose private photos and videos were used against them.
Only if I say so
Thomas’ first hurdle was her lack of technical knowledge, as she freely admits. Still, that didn’t deter her. She said, “I know that it’s bizarre, it’s crazy to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a tech company, but it took someone who has been through it to know the loopholes and the changes that needed to happen.”
Fortunately, her resolve paid off. A year after Image Angel’s launch, the company had garnered numerous industry awards, including a best practice recommendation from the UK’s Independent Pornography Review.
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A wide variety of platforms—from social media to dating apps—can use Image Angel’s technology, which automatically embeds an invisible, digitally unique watermark into any image viewed.
Can’t run, can’t hide
Thomas explained that she didn’t exactly have to start from scratch: “This technology already exists in Hollywood, it already exists in sports broadcasting, so this is not brand new technology, it’s just a new application and a new system.”
The watermark is extremely durable, so it can’t be removed and persists even when photographed with a smartphone camera.
The result is that, should anyone learn their images were nonconsensually circulated, the Image Angel encoding will allow the site to track not just who was responsible but also help find and delete any copies.
“And we’ve tested it,” Thomas further explained to the BBC, “we’re partnering with a company that has 30 years experience in developing technology so we know that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale.”
Punishing the wicked, not the innocent
Thomas’ company joins many other organizations—both commercial and legislative—that seek to inhibit the nonconsensual distribution of private, often explicit images and videos, which are frequently shared with the intent to cause emotional harm.
Kate Worthington of the Southwest Grid for Learning’s (SWGFL) Revenge Porn Helpline shared her enthusiasm for Thomas’ approach, telling the same BBC interviewer, “It is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, no one helpline, it needs to be this multi-layered response.”
SWGFL itself uses StopNCII.org, “Stop Non-Consensual Image Intimate Image Abuse,” which makes a hash—a sort of algorithmic fingerprint from user images that can subsequently aid in halting the distribution of non-user-approved images.
Go get ‘em!
Given the countless daily violations of personal trust, and as legislators work to grasp both the scope and seriousness of the issue, the world needs people like Madelaine Thomas more than ever—those who have experienced firsthand the emotional pain of having their private moments made public.
But also like Madelaine Thomas, someone with the strength and determination to fight back for herself as well as everyone else who has been- or may potentially be—harmed as well.
As she explained to the BBC, “It’s me as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a treat to someone because I wish to, because I want to, because it’s my body and I can do what I want with it.”
Image Sources: Depositphotos
